Sodium bisulfite (usually shown by formula to be NaHSO.sub.3) has heretofore been used for many commercial purposes, such as a preservative for prevention of the deterioration of liquids, such as foodstuffs and pharmaceutical solids and solutions, and has been used medically externally for parasitic skin diseases and internally as a gastrointesinal antiseptic.
The sodium bisulfite of commerce consists chiefly of sodium metabisulfite, Na.sub.2 S.sub.2 O.sub.5, and for purposes of this invention such is believed to possess the same properties as (and to be equivalent to) the true sodium bisulfite when dissolved in an aqueous solution.
The use of sodium bisulfite and metabisulfite in the treatment of hypertension is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,083 and is also described as an antithrombotic agent useful for prolonging both prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) of blood or blood plasma in my copending application Ser. No. 281,951 filed July 9, 1981, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,654.